Opposition-backed network to file 30 constitutional appeals against Italy's new electoral law

Network presents its appeal strategy at the Chamber

On 12 October the Rete per un voto libero e uguale presented its strategy for challenging the new electoral law at the Chamber of Deputies, alongside opposition parties. The network brings together constitutional scholars, lawyers and citizens, and is coordinated by Pietro Adami, Enrico Grosso and Roberto Zaccaria. Its plan is to file 30 appeals across Italy, in the courts of the 29 appeal court districts, with 99 lawyers taking part according to AGI and Rai News. Il Sole 24 ORE reports that Zaccaria said 500 applicants will sign the appeal documents, including Pier Luigi Bersani, Romano Prodi and Massimo D'Alema. Rai News says a solidarity fund will cover the legal costs of applicants who lose their cases, and describes the initiative as a handover from the institutions to civil society.

Zaccaria framed the campaign as a response to what he considers a defect in the law.

The law is seriously unconstitutional, and that is why we are presenting an extraordinary appeal machine. The reaction is strong, in the exercise of Article 24, with the aim of reaching the Constitutional Court before the elections.

The six points under challenge

Enrico Grosso, a constitutional scholar, set out six points that the appeals will contest. The first is the majority bonus, which he said is open to challenge both for its effect on representation and because it links the election of the Chamber to that of the Senate, which the Constitution treats as autonomous. The second is the allocation of seats in the Senate on a national basis, which Grosso said should instead be elected on a regional basis, according to Il Sole 24 ORE. The third concerns how elected candidates are selected, since voters cannot learn how their vote affects individual lawmakers. The fourth is gender balance, because blocked lead candidates could all be of one gender. The fifth is the mandatory indication of a prime ministerial candidate, which Grosso said assumes every list aims to govern, while some parties may want an opposition role. The sixth is the signature requirement for new parties not already represented in parliament, which he described as unreasonable when compared with the exemptions granted to parties already in the chambers.

Grosso said the first point is the majority bonus, both in numerical terms and in the way it is assigned through a fixed number.

The first issue is the majority bonus, both in numerical terms and in the way it is assigned through a fixed number.

Grosso also said nobody is asking for a return to the previous law, which has already been repealed, and that if the appeals succeed the new law would be stripped of its unconstitutional aspects and remain applicable.

Filing date and the road to the Court

Adami set the filing date and the aim behind it. The lawyers want the appeals in place the day the law enters into force.

We have the ambitious goal of filing the appeals on the day the law enters into force. They will be filed on 26 October in all the Courts of Appeal.

Adnkronos reports that under a simplified procedure, courts could fix a first hearing 40 days after filing and then decide whether to issue an order referring the question of constitutional legitimacy to the Court. ANSA reports that Adami projected, in theory, a tribunal hearing in mid-January 2027 and an order by the end of January 2027. The timeline below sets out these dates as projections, not confirmed schedules.